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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. band — a ring
  3. fall — to drop
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. fall — the season
  8. band — a music group
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spring — of water
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. face — part of the head
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bear — the animal
  17. club — for dancing
  18. face — to confront
  19. bear — the animal
  20. club — a group
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — the season
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. date — the fruit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com